Apparatus for recovery of citrus peel oil



May 18, 1965 D. R. JAMES 3,183,825 APPARATUS FOR RECOVERY OF CITRUS PEEL OIL Filed May 15, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 00/14440 :9, 5/44/55 ATTOPA/E'VS May 18, 1965 D. R. JAMES APPARATUS FOR RECOVERY OF CITRUS PEEL OIL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 15, 1961 United States Patent 3,183,825 APPARATUS FOR RECQVERY 0F CITRUS PEEL (BIL Donald R. James, Covina, Calif., assignor to (litrus Equipment Corporation, Whittier, Calif., a corporation of California Filed May 15, 1961, Ser. No. 199,941 Claims. (Cl. lull-8) This invention relates to the processing of citrus fruit and has particular reference to an apparatus for the extraction or removal of citrus oil from citrus peel.

In my copending application Serial No. 12,121, filed March 1, 1960, on Citrus Peel Shaver now Patent No. 3,070,140 is disclosed an apparatus for shaving or slicing the peel of citrus fruit, the apparatus being primarily designed for separating the oil-bearing llavedo layer from the remaining portions of the citrus peel. The flavedo layer portions are then delivered to another apparatus, such as a screw press or the like, for the removal of the oil. While the system has been found to be a considerable advance over former methods and has been utilized in the industry, it is subject to the disadvantages attendant to the use of two separate machines, such as the requirement for considerable floor space, transfer equipment and some losses of oil values during the transfer and subsequent processing. A primary object of the present invention is therefore to provide an improved apparatus in which the peel slicing and oil extraction operations are carried out in a single unit.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel citrus oil extraction apparatus capable of producing higher yields of oil than have been possible with existing equipment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel apparatus combining, in a single housing and utilizing a single frame, means for slicing the peel to remove the flavedo therefrom, and means for pressing the fiavedo to express the oil therefrom.

Other objects and advantages of this invention it is believed will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

in the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional elevation thereof.

Referring now to the drawings, the apparatus of the present invention is substantially the same as that disclosed in said cop-ending application Serial No. 12,121 now Patent No. 3,070,140, with the exceptions noted below, and includes a framework 10 to which is secured a generally rectangular housing 11 having a top wall 12, front and back walls 13 and 14 and side walls 14a. A hopper 15 is secured to the housing and extends down through the top wall 12, the hopper being provided with a pivoted top closure 1% and a pivoted chute Wall 17 for cleaning purposes.

Mounted directly below the bottom opening in the hopper is a pair of rollers or drums Zil, each drum being mounted on a horizontal shaft 21 extending lengthwise of the frame and journalled at each end in bearing members 'The drums are mutually parallel and spaced apart to form a narrow bite 23, the normal spacing between the outermost peripheral surfaces of the drums being about 50% of the thickness of the peel to be operated upon. The cylindrical surfaces of the drums are provided with a plurality of circumferentially' spaced, parallel ribs 25, preferably parallel to the axis of their respective drum as shown. A number of sets of these longitudinally extending ribs are provided, adjacent sets 3,183,825 Patented May 18, 1965 ice being spaced apart to provide a plurality of circumferential grooves (not shown).

A second pair of rollers 30 is mounted directly below the rollers 2%, each roller 30 being carried on a shaft 31 suitably journalled in bearing members 32. The rollers Bill are each closely spaced from the adjacent roller 29, the spacing being approximately the same as that between the rollers 26. As is apparent from the drawings and the following description, the rollers 39 provide means, cooperating with the rollers 20 for guiding the peel gripped by the rollers 20 as the peel is diverted in one direction or the other, and for properly positioning the peel for presentation to the knife. The rollers 30 herein difier from the rollers 39 of said copending application in beins provided with knurled or other rough-textured cylindrical surfaces such as are provided by a diamond knurled (l4 pitch) pattern.

A third pair of rollers 35 are provided, each mounted on a shaft 36 suitably journalled in bearing members 37. One of the rollers 35 contacts each of the rollers 30, the axes of the former being preferably slightly below the taxes of the latter. Rollers 30 and 35, either one or both, may have a rough-textured or patterned surface. 'The arrangement described is the preferred one.

Drive means are provided for the three pairs of rollers and as shown in the drawings, these means may include a transmission chain 43 leading from the drive shaft of a motor (not shown) and extending to a sprocket 44 on one of the shafts 36, thence to a sprocket 45 on one of the shafts 31, thence around a sprocket 46 on the other of the shafts 36, thence around a sprocket 47 on the other shaft Ell, thence around a sprocket 48 on one of the shafts 21, thence to a sprocket 49 on the other shaft 21 and back to the drive shaft. Thus the rollers 20, 30 and 36 are caused to rotate in the directions of the arrows of FIGURES 1 and 2.

Means are provided for adjusting the spacing between the rollers 24), between each roller of each pair of rollers 21% and 3t), and between each roller of each pair of rollers 36? and 35. As shown in the drawings, the bearing members 22, which support the rollers 31 are rigidly secured to bearing support plates 5%, each plate being pivotally connected to the frame by means of a pin 51 and adjustably locked in the desired position by means of a nut and bolt assembly 53 extending through an arcuate groove 54 in each plate. Pivoted to each plate and bearing member assembly by means of a pin 55 is a turnbuckle assembly 56. The assembly comprises a turnbuckle 57 having fine threads 58 and coarse threads 59, the threads 53 being engaged in a threaded-opening in a bracket es and the coarse threads 59 being engaged in a threaded opening in a bracket 61 pivoted to the frame. It will thus be understood that the rollers 23 are adjustable in general directions toward and away from each other (as indicated by the arrows in FTGURE l) merely by turning the turnbuckles 57 one way or the other, of course after first loosening the nut and bolt assemblies 53.

The means for adjustment of the rollers 30 are essentially the same except that here the directions of adjustment are toward and away from the adjacent roller 20, in the directions of the arrows of FIGURE 1. Thus, each bearing member 32 is rigidly secured to showing support plate 70, each plate being pivotally connected to the frame by means of a pin 71 and adjustably locked in the desired position by means of a nut and bolt assembly 72 extending through an arcuate groove 74 in each plate. Pivoted to each plate and bearing member assembly by means of a pin 75 is a turnbuckle assembly 76, the assemblies comprising a turnbuckle 77 having fine threads 78 and coarse threads 79, the threads 78 being engaged in a threaded opening in a bracket 81 pivoted to the frame.

For adjustment of each roller 35 toward and away from its associated roller 30, the bearing members 37 are each pivotally connected to one of the support plates 70 by means of a pin 83 extending through an oversize ,hole 85. The head of a nut member 86, which is threadedly engaged in a support member 87 secured to the plate 70, bears against the side of each bearing member 37 to adjustably lock the same in the desired position.

Knife means are provided for shaving the citrus peel and, as shown in the drawings, these means may include the pair of horizontal knife blades 90a, mounted on knife holders 90, one mounted on either side of the pairs of rollers, the cutting edge of each blade extending into the discharge portion of the bite between the adjacent rollers 20 and 30 and nearly to the center line of the rollers. The knife holders are each fixedly mounted in grooves 91 in a pair of frame members 92 by means of a pair of screw elements 93 which bear against the back edges of each of the knife holders, forcing the respective knife holder up against the end (not shown) of each groove 91. The screw elements 93 are each threadedly engaged in a support block 95 secured to the frame by means of quick release bolts 96 for ready removal of the knife holders and blades for cleaning purposes.

Means are provided for stripping the albedo from the rollers 20 and, as shown in the drawings, these means may include a plurality of rigid finger members 109, each of which extends into one of the circumferential grooves on the rollers 20. The fingers are a part of a pair of comb-like members 101, one mounted on a frame member 102 on either side of the pair of rollers 20.

Means are provided in the hopper for clearing peel jambs adjacent the inlet portions of the bit between the rollers 20. As shown in the drawings these means may include an agitator or kick-off mechanism 11% comprising a plurality of paddle-like members 111 extending radially outwardly from a shaft 112. The shaft 112 is preferably mounted on suitable bearings (not shown) to one side Of a vertical plane bisecting the bite between the rollers 20, the outermost tips of the paddles 111 extending into close proximity to one of the rollers and to the arcuate side wall 115 of the hopper. The mechanism 110 is rotated at a speed somewhat less than that of the rollers 20, preferably in the direction of the arrows of FIGURE 2, by means of a chain 116 extending from a sprocket 117 on one of the shafts 21 to a sprocket 118 on the shaft 112.

Means are provided for wiping the surfaces of the rollers and clean of peel, oil and juice particles and as shown, these means may include the flexible Wiper blades 120 which contact the rollers 30 and similar blades 121 which contact the rollers 35. The blades 120 are carried on cross-members 125 which are secured to the frame by means of bracket members 126, and the blades 121 are carried on cross-members 127 secured to bracket members 128.

Means are provided for washing the flavedo portions as they are pressed between the rollers 30 and 35, and as shown in the drawings, these means may include a pair of water manifold members 130 extending across the apparatus, one under each of the knife blades, a water inlet pipe 131 being connected to each manifold. A plurality of spaced bores 135 extend from the interior of the mani fold to direct streams or sprays of water into the bite between the rolls and 35. p 7

The flavedo and albedo discharge portions of the apparatus are separated by means of a pair of curved divider plates 140 extending from the manifold 130 to the vertical frame members 141.

In use of the apparatus of this invention, the citrus fruits, such as lemons, oranges or grapefruit, is cut into halves and the juice and pulp extracted therefrom in any convenient manner, such as in a citrus juice extracting machine. Suitable machines are disclosed in Patent No.

2,767,644, issued to F. W. Bireley, Patent No. 2,199,876, issued to William D. Brown and Patent No. 2,212,066, issued to Lawrence A. Fry. The peel halves from the Brown machine are preferably flattened or partially flattened, or the halves are quartered or cut into other segments before feeding into the hopper 15. Peel halves from machines of the Bireley and Fry type are fed directly into the hopper since they are in flattened condition.

The peel halves or the segments slide down the chute 17 and are drawn into the bite 23, the albedo portions thereof being impaled by the ribs 25 0f the particular rollers 20 faced by the albedo. The roller thus grips the peel and conveys it to the knife blade a which cleanly separates the peel along a plane parallel to the upper and lower surfaces thereof, thus separating the peel into the flavedo layer and albedo layer.

The albedo is thrown outwardly over the top of the knife blade 911a and thence downwardly to discharge in the direction of the arrows 145 of FIGURE 2. The flavedo layers, which contain the valuable peel oil, pass through the passages between the rollers 30 and the manifold members 130 and thence into the bites between the pairs of rollers 30 and 35 wherein they are pressed, rupturing the oil cells and releasing the peel oil therefrom. The areas in which these pressing or crushing operations are carried out is continuously sprayed with water from the bores 135, to condense and capture the volatile oil fractions, as well as to wash the oil from the rollers and into the flavedo discharge. The oil, water and pressed flavedo are then separated in any convenient means such as by first removing the solids in a paddle finisher and then separating the oil from the water in a centrifuge.

It will be understood that no orientation of the peel i necessary with the apparatus of this invention. That is,'the peels are fed to the hopper in random distribution, the rollers 20 selectively gripping peel portions depending upon the disposition of the portions as they enter the bite 23. This is made possible by the fact that the ribs 25 dig or bite into only the relatively soft albedo and not the relatively tough flavedo. Therefore, due to the random disposition of the peel, over a long running period, roughly one-half of the total amount of peel segments will be processed on each of the two rollers 20. It has been found in actual practice that the apparatus is highly selective, or more of the peel segments being properly fed to the knife blades 90a.

The mechanism automatically cleans the hopper of any accidental pile-up of peel. Occasionally a peel segment will bridge the bite 23, concave side down, blocking further feeding of segments into that portion of the bite. In such event, the paddle members 111 immediately kick-ofi or remove the interfering segment or segments, conveying them around the interior of the hopper to be re-fed to the bite 23.

The apparatus of the present invention has proved to be a decided improvement over methods and apparatus heretofore proposed, permitting higher oil yields in apparatus utilizing less floor space. A further unexpected advantage in the apparatus has been the recovery of oil containing as much as 50% more aldehydes than was heretofore possible. F It is to be understood that the apparatus of this invention may be used to press the whole citrus peel or segments thereof and extract the citrus oil therefrom. That is, the knife blades %a can be omitted and substituted by a guide forming an extension of the knife holder 90 contacting the ribs 25, or the knife blades can be adjusted to themselves contact the ribs 25, thus stripping the peel therefrom without any slicing action. In such event, the entire peel, comprising both the albedo and flavedo is removed from the rollers 21 and directed by the combined manifold members and guides into the bite between the rollers 30 and 55, wherein the pressing operation takes place as described above.

Having fully described my invention, it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the details set forth above, but my invention is of the full scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for shaving citrus peel comprising a pair of closely spaced, parallel rollers, means on each of said rollers for selectively adhering citrus peel thereto with the albedo portion of the peel facing the selecting roller, a pair of knife blades, one operably associated with each of said rollers for shaving the flavedo portion from the albedo portion of said adhered peel, a second pair of rollers, one roller of said second pair being parallel to and closely spaced from one roller of said firstmentioned pair of rollers, each of said knife blades extending into the discharge side of the bite between the rollers of the first and second pairs of rollers, and a third pair of rollers, one roller of said third pair being parallel to and contacting one roller of said second pair of rollers and forming a bite therewith positioned to receive flavedo layers shaved from said peel whereb said flavedo layers are pressed to rupture the oil cells thereof and release the oil therefrom.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 including water spray means impinging on said bite between the rollers of said second and third pairs.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said rollers are enclosed in a housing.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein means are provided for adjusting the spacing between adjacent rollers.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one of the second and third pairs of rollers is provided with roughened surfaces.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first-mentioned pair of rollers is provided with a plurality of spaced longitudinal ribs on the surface thereof.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the firstmentioned pair of rollers is provided with a plurality of spaced, longitudinal ribs on the surface thereof, wherein means are provided for adjusting the spacing between adjacent rollers, wherein means are provided for adjusting the spacing of said knife blades with respect to the respective surfaces of said first pair of rollers, wherein at least one of the second and third pairs of rollers is provided with roughened surfaces, including water spray means impinging on said bite between the rollers of said second and third pairs, and including a housing enclosing said apparatus.

8. Apparatus for extracting citrus oil from citrus peel comprising a pair of substantially parallel rollers, said rollers having longitudinally extending ribs on their surfaces, said rollers being spaced apart a distance such that the distance between the outer ends of opposed ribs is equal to at least substantially half of the thickness of the peel being fed between said rollers, whereby citrus peel fed in random orientation between said rollers is selectively gripped by the ribs of one of said rollers with the albedo portion of the peel facing said roller, the

peel being diverted in one direction or the other, depending upon the disposition of the albedo and flavedo portions of said peel relative to said rollers as the peel passes therebetween, means cooperating with each of said ribbed rollers for guiding the diverted peel in said directions, said means including a pair of lower rollers located below said ribbed rollers, each one of said lower rollers forming a bite with a corresponding one of said ribbed rollers, the rollers of said lower pair being spaced from each other, each of said lower rollers being spaced from said corresponding roller of said pair of ribbed rollers substantially uniform distances, said distances being substantially the same as that between the rollers of said pair of ribbed rollers, a shaving knife on the outside of and adjacent the bite between each pair of ribbed rollers and the lower rollers for shaving the flavedo portion from the albedo portion of citrus peel passed through each of said bites, and a pair of pressing rollers having generally cylindrical surfaces, each one of said pressing rollers forming a bite with a corresponding one of said lower rollers, said last-named bite being positioned to receive the flavedo portions shaved from said peel whereby said flavedo portions are pressed to rupture the oil cells thereof and release the oil therefrom.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, including drive means for rotating said ribbed rollers in opposite directions with the opposed adjacent surfaces thereof moving downwardly, drive means for rotating said lower rollers in opposite directions with the opposed adjacent surfaces thereof moving upwardly, and drive means for rotating said pressing rollers in opposite directions with the surface thereof adjacent said corresponding lower roller moving in the same direction as the contacted surface of said corresponding lower roller.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said lower rollera are provided with knurled surfaces, wherein said means for guiding includes a pair of curved divider plates, one extending from each of the first-named bites toward each of the respective last-named bites, water spray means impinging on each of said last-named bites, and a housing enclosing said combination.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 349,075 9/86 Barnard et al. 146-3.13 2,212,066 8/40 Fry 1463 2,767,644 10/56 Bireley l05 X 2,799,218 7/57 Leslie et al. 100105 X FOREIGN PATENTS 318,043 8/29 Great Britain.

593,829 10/ 47 Great Britain.

846,829 10/ 47 Great Britain.

WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner. A. G. STONE, S. KOREN, Examiners. 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR HAVING CITRUS PEEL COMPRISING A PAIR OF CLOSELY SPACED, PARALLEL ROLLERS, MEANS ON EACH OF WITH ROLLERS FOR SELECTIVELY ADHERING CITRUS PEEL THERETO WITH THE ALBEDO PORTION OF THE PEEL FACING THE SELECTING ROLLER, A PAIR OF KNIFE BLADES, THE OPERABLY ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OF SAID ROLLERS FOR SHAVING THE FLAVEDO PORTION FROM THE ALBEDO PORTION OF SAID AHERED PEEL, A SECOND PAIR OF ROLLERS, ONE ROLLER OF SAID SECOND PAIR BEING PARALLEL TO AND CLOSELY SPACED FROM ONE ROLLER OF SAID FIRSTMENTIONED PAIR OF ROLLERS, EACH OF SAID KNIFE BLADES EXTENDING INTO THE DISCHARGE SIDE OF THE BITE BETWEEN THE ROLLERS OF THE FIRST AND SECOND PAIRS OF ROLLERS, AND A THIRD PAIR OF ROLLERS, ONE ROLLER OF SAID THIRD PAIR BEING PARALLEL TO AND CONTACTING ONE ROLLER OF SAID SECOND PAIR OF ROLLERS AND FORMING A BOTE THEREWITH POSITIONED TO RECEIVE FLAVEDO LAYERS SHAVED FROM SAID PEEL WHEREBY SAID FLAVEDO LAYERS ARE PRESSED TO RUPTURE THE CELLS THEREOF AND RELEASE THE OIL THEREFROM. 